Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Features

Photos by Stuart Mann/Contributing photographerJeff Schaefer, sports management sophomore, plays the drums at rehearsal for the Ground Zero ministry. [Click to enlarge]

Anna Windsor, elementry education sophomore, and Jordan Jarnagin, nursing sophomore, rehearse for the worship portion of Ground Zero. [Click to enlarge]

Josh Davison, philosophy and religion senior, leads rehearsal for the Ground Zero ministry.that will take place in April. [Click to enlarge]

You can feel the excitement of the people who are involved. Really, all you have to do is look at them, because it's written on their faces. But it can be found within their words as well. Ground Zero is a ministry that has been active on campus for a couple of years, but it is really not one that you hear a lot about. Josh Davison, philosophy and religion senior, is head of the program. He said that you haven't heard a lot about it for a reason. "Ground Zero likes to be a little mysterious, but we are also just starting to publicize the event for this semester. We like people to think 'what is ground zero?' We want to spike the interest in it and make people take notice." So what is Ground Zero, and where did the name come from? "Ground Zero is a worship service. A time of encountering God where people come together putting aside denominational differences to worship God together as a body of Christ," said Davison, "It is named Ground Zero because it is a point of impact and place of massive and rapid change. So that's what we're going for. We want people who come to Ground Zero to be moved by the spirit and we hope rapid and massive change will happen in their lives." It may just sound like chapel with a special name, but Davison says that it's not. Ground Zero is an event that only happens once a semester. And as a result of that there is a lot more planning and preparation that goes into it. There are specific teams set up that meet during the whole semester in order to be prepared for the one night event. The teams vary from music to decorations, and there is a prayer team that meets not only to pray for the people involved in the ministry, but also for the students that will be coming to the event. And the students who attend Ground Zero seem to get a lot out of it. Jennifer Edwards, business junior, said, "I enjoy Ground Zero because it is unlike any other worship service we have on campus. It is an amazing experience because it is simply a group of students meeting together to praise the Lord. I hope that events like Ground Zero continue to help us break free from the barriers that keep us from truly worshipping. It is a great place to forget about all of our worries and focus on the one thing that truly matters, the Lord." But if you're a student who has a tendency to shy away from a traditional church environment you should know that Ground Zero is different. Davison said, "If there are Christians that don't feel comfortable with some of the ministries on campus I would love to see them come out and I would like for them to know that we're much more spiritually based than we are traditionally based. It is an open atmosphere that is very spiritually focused, we're there for people that want to encounter God in any way." But as great as Ground Zero sounds, students are going to have to wait for it. The event won't take place until early April, but you won't miss the date. You can plan on hearing more about it from the members of the Ground Zero ministry team. They will begin promoting the event sometime soon. Peggy Williams is a sophomore majoring in journalism. You may e-mail her at peggy.williams@sckans.edu.

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